mafiawikiaorg-20200216-history
Raffaele Quasarano
Raffaele Quasarano (December 20, 1910 - October 22, 2001) known as "Jimmy Q", was a high ranking member of the Detroit Partnership. Biography A native of Mauch, Chunk, Pennsylvania. Over the years, Jimmy Q's arrest record would come to demonstrate his criminal versatility. Over the next 50 years Quasarano would ring up arrests for disorderly conduct, armed robbery, shooting, wiretapping, gambling, violation of federal narcotics laws and racketeering, the final entry coming during the latter stages of his long and illustrious career. A suspected conspirator in the heroin operation of Frank Coppola, John Priziola and Angelo Meli, Quasarano was in frequent contact with Lucchese crime family drug baron John Ormento as well as Joseph Barbara in upstate New York. Quasaranos' marriage to the daughter of Sicilian mafia boss Vito Vitale provided him with a direct source of heroin, a contact that paid enormous dividends as the Detroit Partners expanded their involvement in the burgeoning heroin market during the late 1940s and early 50s. Quasarano like other members of the Detroit outfit reinvested the proceeds of his nefarious activities in a string of legitimate enterprises which included the following: Motor City Barber and Beauty Supply, County Growers Inc., and Concrete Paving Corp., while joining relatives "Papa" John Priziola and his son-in-law Michael Polizzi in acquiring several acres of undeveloped land south of Mt.Clemons Michigan. Quasarano would later come to attention again when another pair of relatives "Paul and Peter Vitale," in the running of Central Sanitation Services which was the recipient of unwanted attention from investigators looking into the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa in the mid "70s. Quasarano and his partner in the waste disposal company were two of the prime suspects in the disappearance of the famed Teamsters leader. Investigators learned that Quasarano had been a prime supporter of Hoffa's successor Frank Fitzsimmons who was a frequent visitor to Market Vending, an operation run by Quasarano and Vitale. Fitzsimmons son Dick had once been employed at Market Vending as a sales manager. Quasarano's ties to the teamster union would pay off handsomely when he arranged an $85,000 loan to be granted to Central Sanitation Service through a New Jersey bank controlled by Anthony Provenzano a relative of Anthony Giacalone and a powerful member of the Genovese crime family. Central Sanitation avoided paying the loan when the bank folded shortly after granting the loan. Quasarano's support of Fitzsimmons came as something of a shock and disappointment to Jimmy Hoffa who had once shared an interest in a Detroit area boxer with Quasarano and had counted on Quasarano's support in his bid to return to the head of his beloved union. Quasarano used the ascension of Fizsimmons to the head of the Teamsters to his benefit as he used his influence over the powerful union to muscle in on several legitimate businesses. Among these two Cheese companies "one in Ontario, California and the other in Wisconsin," which were suspected of being fronts for his continued importation of narcotics from abroad. Investigators combed the records of both preparations finally winning a racketeering case against Jimmy Q. In January of 1981, Quasarano was sentenced to serve a 4 year prison sentence for illegally seizing control of the Wisconsin Cheese factory through intimidation and extortion. At the time of his conviction Quasarano had been serving as Jack Tocco's consigliere, a role he took over following the death of John Priziola in 1979. Category:Detroit Partnership Category:Consigliere